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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/23283541">The Wishing Well</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Paige_Turner36/pseuds/Paige_Turner36'>Paige_Turner36</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Once Upon a Time (TV)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Anti Transformation Powder, Baelfire | Neal Cassidy Lives, F/M, Memory potion, Reunions, Snow White | Mary Margaret Blanchard and Prince Charming | David Nolan's Dark Curse, Storybrooke (Once Upon a Time), The wishing well, au season 3b</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-03-24</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-03-24</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-01 10:13:30</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>4,253</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/23283541</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Paige_Turner36/pseuds/Paige_Turner36</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>It may have been a year ago, but to Belle and Neal the loss of Rumple is fresh as if it had just happened yesterday. While visiting the spot where they had been properly reunited after the first curse, Neal tests out the Wishing Well's legend by sampling its restorative waters in the hopes that Rumple will be returned to them. When it appears not to work, Neal leaves disheartened. Before she joins him, Belle makes a wish of her own...</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Baelfire | Neal Cassidy &amp; Rumplestiltskin | Mr. Gold, Baelfire | Neal Cassidy/Rumplestiltskin | Mr. Gold, Belle &amp; Rumplestiltskin | Mr. Gold, Belle/Rumplestiltskin | Mr. Gold</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>39</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>The Wishing Well</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  
</p><p>Belle and Neal had gone to the wishing well as a sort of pilgrimage to Rumplestiltskin. There had been no body to bury and, thanks to this new curse, couldn’t recall if they had held any kind of ceremony for him in the Enchanted Forest to honour his sacrifice.</p><p>This was the spot where Belle had remembered Rumplestiltskin and they were reunited properly in this new land after nearly thirty years. Neal leaned against the well listening to her story. He eyed the engraved plaque that told him that if you drink water from the well, something lost will be returned to you.</p><p>In the days of cursed Storybrooke this would have been a fanciful legend to attract tourists, but now that magic had been brought here, could the legend have become real?</p><p>Neal pulled on the rope to bring up the bucket full of the mystical waters. He dipped a forgotten camping mug into it. He stared into it and thought about what he’d lost. His father… Emma… Henry… Their faces burned brightly in his mind’s eye as he drained the waters.</p><p>Neal swallowed, feeling the water flow through him. He and Belle looked all around them, not sure what to expect or how soon it would take for the magic to take effect. They even peered down into the depths of the well, as if they thought they would come climbing out of it.</p><p>Nothing happened. These waters might free a man encased in gold or return a woman’s fertility, but bringing back the dead was just beyond these waters reach. But it was a heavy blow to Neal nevertheless.</p><p>Belle tried to console him, though she could quash the crushing disappointment that it hadn’t worked either. Neal walked away dejected. Belle was about to follow when she hesitated. This was a <em>wishing</em> well after all. And how do most people make such wishes in such places?</p><p>Belle pulled a silver coin out of her pocket. She held it between his fingers, staring hard at it. Was it hope or madness? Belle didn’t care.</p><p>‘I wish Rumplestiltskin was here,’ Belle wished silently.</p><p>She closed her eyes and tossed the coin into the well. It flipped in the air catching the sunlight before it fell and she heard the distant plonk as the coin containing her wish hit the mystical waters below. She sighed and left, hurrying to catch up with Neal, and making a mental note to always keep a journal from now on, thinking that Amnesia was going to because an all too common affliction from now on.</p><p>Well, they tried.</p><p>From the depths of the well was a small coin sized flash of silver light before it filled with a bright, glittering gold-white light, much like the light that had consumed Rumple before he disappeared. There was a rumbling and churning and suddenly torrents of water burst out so violently that it hit the roof and spilling over the sides, flooding the forest floor. Then, as if someone had hit the rewind button, the flow of water reversed, returning to the well from whence it came.</p><p>A body appeared out of the water, sodden and coughing as the water level fell, lying face down on the damp muddy ground. The man pushed his wet hair out of his face as the last of the water disappeared back into the well, leaving the stone bone dry. The only evidence of this magical phenomenon was the moist soil that resembled the mud of the Somme and the confused half-drowned man raising his head.</p><p>It was Rumplestiltskin.</p><p>He blinked, taking in his surroundings. Everything was bright. Green. Trees – he was in a forest. He liked forests. Then he saw a stone structure that was not a tree, though judging by its age nature had certainly attempted to claim it. He felt something cold and metal in his hand. Opening it he saw that it was a silver coin, gleaming in the light of the sun. He looked again at the base of the stone monument. He reached up and gripped the edge, using it to pull himself up.</p><p>He read the little sign:</p><p> </p><p>WISHING WELL</p><p>
  <em> For centuries, local legend has claimed that mystical waters run beneath this great land. It is said that these waters possess the power to return that which is lost to its rightful place. If you have lost something precious to you, drink from this well and bear witness to this miracle as what is missing shall be returned.</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>‘The waters that run below are said to have the power to return that which one has lost…’</em>
</p><p>He had said that.</p><p>
  <em>‘Rumplestiltskin, wait.’</em>
</p><p>He looked round and saw the ghosts of two people, a well-dressed man stood with his back to him, dressed in a suit and leaning on a cane – Rumplestiltskin – and a pretty women with messy brown hair and beautiful blue eyes who was dressed in a hospital gown beneath a jacket staring lovingly into his eyes.</p><p>
  <em>‘I love you.’</em>
</p><p>They embraced.</p><p>
  <em>‘Yes. Yes. And I love you too.’</em>
</p><p>The echoes vanished.</p><p>He examined himself. His suit was wet through, wrinkled and stained with mud and something white speckled his shoulders. The blue opal ring stood out against his slightly pale right hand. His cufflinks were missing as was his tie; his shirt buttons opened revealing his V neckline. He pulled the shirt away and saw a scar on his chest, over his heart.</p><p>As he touched it, memories flashed across his mind; stabbing a teenager – Pan – his father Malcolm – in the back, but also impaled himself with it in the process. <em>‘I love you, Bae,’</em> he told his son. <em>‘And I love you, Belle, you made me stronger,’</em> he told his true love. He twisted the dagger to embed it deeper into both their wounds. A golden light peeked out from the blade and shone even brighter. He placed a kiss on his father’s cheek as the light engulfed them and they both disappeared out of existence.</p><p>Rumple gasped as his brain caught up with him. He had died. He had given his life to save his loved ones. So how could he be alive? How did he end up here?</p><p>He looked again at the coin. So someone had made a wish. Belle? Bae? Who else in this town would bring him back because they actually missed him?</p><p>He saw his dagger lying on the ground. He picked it up. <em>Rumplestiltskin </em>gleamed on the metal. So he was still the Dark One. He waved it over himself and he was warm and dry again, though he still looked as though he’d been to hell and back.</p><p>He got to his feet and set off to find Bae and Belle.</p><p> </p><p>There was no one on the streets as Rumple emerged from the forest, heading straight for his beloved shop. Belle’s library was closed. So she must be here. He stared up at the sign and then at his reflection in the window. He looked a real sight, not at all his usual well-tailored, composed self. His suit was dishevelled and dirty, and his hair wasn’t much better. He hoped Belle wouldn’t mind his shabbiness.</p><p>The shop bell tinkled overhead as he entered his shop, feeling a quiet thrill at the sound. He never realised how much he missed it. Sweet sounding but with authority, much like his Belle. <em>Do hope you’re not going to break my little bell!</em> he had once complained to Emma as she’d nearly broken it slamming the door like that. He looked around the wonderfully familiar relics from the Enchanted Forest, taking it all in. He touched the crystal unicorn mobile, ran his hand along the glass cabinets, until the only thing he truly cherished caught his eye.</p><p>The chipped cup sat on the counter. He picked it up, cradling it in his hands and pressed a kiss to it.</p><p>‘Is that you, Neal?’</p><p>Rumple looked up, his heart leaping at the sound of that voice. <em>Belle</em>…</p><p>‘I thought you’d never get here.’</p><p>Rumple smiled. Setting the cup carefully back on the counter, he slowly approached the curtain separating him from his love. He took a deep breath, straightened his suit jacket and pushed passed the curtain, stepping into the backroom.</p><p>Belle was standing there. She had her back to him, rifling through some papers. She didn’t look round when Rumple entered and still believed she was speaking to Neal as she asked vaguely, still absorbed in what she was reading, ‘Where’d you go to get the bagels? All the way to New York?’</p><p>Rumple took a step closer, still smiling, his heart thumping with nervous excitement, the light streaming in through the window giving him an almost ethereal glow. But not as bright as the angel before him.</p><p>‘It… it isn’t Baelfire,’ said Rumple, his voice slightly hoarse.</p><p>Belle froze at the sound of his voice. She lifted her head from the papers, that happened to include August Booth’s drawing of the Dark One dagger, her back ridged and so still she appeared not to be breathing.</p><p>‘It’s me…’ he whispered. ‘It’s me, Belle.’</p><p>Belle turned very, very slowly. She saw her dead love standing there, his long hair a mess as was his suit, and he had the smell of the forest and damp clothing about him. She braced herself on the workbench, staring wide-eyed and unblinking, afraid that if she did he would vanish.</p><p>Did he look like that when he saw his thought-long-since-dead true love come walking through his doors?</p><p>Rumple smiled at her, his face glowing with hope. After a few seconds, the corners of Belle’s delicate mouth lifted slightly. That was a good sign. She wasn’t running away screaming. She didn’t look disappointed like Milah had when he’d returned from the Ogres War. She was struggling to process it all, but what she did understand, seeing Rumple standing before her was a welcoming sight. Rumple’s smile widened, his eyes welling up.</p><p>Then his smile disappeared. He’d had thought Belle looked pale already. Now all vestiges of colour drained rapidly from her face. Her eyes rolled up and she started to fall sideways with the grace of Del Boy during the famous bar scene, the papers falling in a shower from her limp hand and oddments that had been sitting on the worktop hitting to the floor.</p><p>In slow motion Rumple darted forwards, sliding on his knees, scuffing his trousers and caught Belle in his arms just in time, cradling her in his lap.</p><p>‘Belle!’ said Rumple panicked.</p><p>He checked her over for signs of injury. It was only a faint; but Rumple would never forgive himself if any harm came to Belle. He picked her up and carried her over to the bed. Belle’s eyelids were beginning to flutter by the time he’d settled her down comfortably and knelt down beside her.</p><p>Her normal healthy colour was returning.</p><p> </p><p>Belle opened her eyes. She was lying on the bed in the pawnshop. The blurry concerned face above her came into focus. It was Rumple. She remembered how she’d fainted, the feeling of being wrapped in Rumple’s strong arms the last thing she remembered before passing out. He hadn’t disappeared.</p><p>Belle reached up and touched Rumple’s cheek with her fingertips. It was warm, unshaven and appeared to be solid. ‘You’re real,’ she whispered.</p><p>Rumple nodded.</p><p>‘You’re alive…’</p><p>Rumple nodded again.</p><p>This had to be a dream. She was still lying unconscious on the floor dreaming her wish had worked and she had got Rumple back. If wishing worked her own mother would be here right now. Or she had gone mad with hopeless longing.</p><p>Because dead was dead. Rumple was gone. Forever. He would never come back.</p><p>Belle burst into tears. Rumple gathered her up in his arms and hugged her tight. Belle hugged her imaginary construct back, her hands in his shaggy hair, breathing in his musty scent, listening to the sound of his voice as he tried to sooth her. She didn’t know how long the dream would last but she wanted to savour every minute.</p><p>‘I’ve got you. I’ve got you, Belle,’ said Rumple his voice shaky, as if he was crying too. ‘I’m sorry I left you. I’m sorry. Please forgive me.’</p><p>It all felt, sounded and smelt so real. Could it be…?</p><p>Belle pulled back, staring desperately into his face, her own wet and snorty, her running mascara making her look like Alice Cooper. Rumple groped hastily for his pocket square, which was still slightly damp. After quickly wringing it out, he used it to tenderly wipe her face and held it to her nose so she could blow, giving it a final dab. Belle ran her fingers through his soft hair, watching it pass through them, then put the same hand to his cheek, and traced the bones over and over again. Rumple waited, holding his breath, waiting desperately for Belle to recognize that he was real.</p><p>She looked into his brown eyes full of tears. Whatever she saw in them seemed to convince her. Tears of grief turning to tears of joy.</p><p>‘It <em>is </em>you!’ Belle gasped.</p><p>‘It’s me, Belle.’ Rumple leaned in eagerly to kiss her but stopped himself barely an inch from her inviting mouth, suddenly shy. ‘I want… I would very much like to kiss you. May I?’</p><p>Belle nodded. ‘Yes…’</p><p>They moved in slowly, feeling the others shaky breath on their faces. Their lips met in a tender kiss. Rumple hands came up to cup her face and Belle’s looped around his neck. They smiled wetly against their lips as the kiss deepened, pouring a thousand lost kisses into it, their tears mingling.</p><p>When they were all kissed, hugged and cried out, they pulled back, but remained close, resting against the others forehead and clasping hands.</p><p>‘I thought I’d never see you again,’ Belle whispered. ‘Even in my dreams, I was afraid to imagine this moment and fear it would never come true. But it's here. You're here.’</p><p>‘I’m here,’ Rumple assured her. He stroked her cheek, looking at her with rapture. ‘You’re as beautiful as the day I last saw you.’</p><p>The memory of the day she’d helplessly watched him die without being able to tell him she loved him too brought Belle to her senses. ‘But you died.’</p><p>‘Yeah, I know,’ said Rumple slowly. ‘I was there.’</p><p>‘But, Rumple, you didn’t just die, you disappeared,’ Belle insisted. ‘There was this gold light and you were gone. There was nothing left of you, not even your dagger.’</p><p>Rumple frowned. ‘Disappeared? What does that mean?’</p><p>Belle looked Rumple up and down, staring at him as if he shouldn’t exist. ‘How can you be here? Where did you go?’</p><p>‘Well…’ Rumple paused then the man who usually had all the answers shrugged helplessly. ‘I don’t know. It’s all a bit fuzzy.’</p><p>Rumple sat down on the edge of the bed, Belle joined him.</p><p>‘Fuzzy?’ Belle repeated.</p><p>‘Well, I died and ended up in the well. It’s very confusing.’ He remembered the coin and pulled it out, showing it to Belle. ‘Did you make a wish?’</p><p>Belle flushed, taking the coin back. ‘The well returns what you lost,’ she mumbled, looking embarrassed at her gullibility. She shook her head. ‘It was stupid.’</p><p>Rumple covered her hand with his own. ‘You hoped. Hope isn’t stupid.’</p><p>‘Hope without good reason is. Dead is dead.’</p><p>‘Then how can I be here? I’m not exactly Jesus.’</p><p>‘I don’t know. What happened? From your point of view, what physically happened to you?’</p><p>Rumple tried to think. ‘I was in Storybrooke. I went to stop Pan killing you and Bae. I stabbed us both, it hurt like the devil I was and still am. There was this light. And suddenly there’s water everywhere, I couldn’t breathe. I’m rising up out of this stone tunnel and suddenly I’m lying in the middle of the forest next to the wishing well. I was just here. Whatever happened in between, if at all, I don’t remember. Maybe there was nothing. All I know is; I was at peace. And I knew you were safe.’</p><p>‘Do you hate it that you were brought back?’ Belle asked tentatively.</p><p>‘When you bow, you leave the crowd,’ said Rumple quietly. ‘I was finished. But seeing you again? How could I not be happy about that? It could have been worse.’</p><p>‘How?’</p><p>‘Someone could have resurrected me via the Dark Vault and enslaved me with the dagger. And they would have sacrificed one of you to do it. A life for a life exchange. I don’t know what I’d do if I ever lost either of you. I’d be lost. What would I have become?’</p><p>Belle placed her free hand over Rumple’s that was still clutching hers. ‘We’ll never know because we’re still here. Neal will help you. We both will. Everything’s going to be all right, Rumple.’</p><p>‘Thank you.’</p><p>He glanced at Belle.</p><p>‘How long have I been gone?’</p><p>Belle swallowed. ‘A year.’</p><p>‘Oh Belle.’</p><p>‘Or three days to the rest of us.’</p><p>‘I don’t understand.’</p><p>‘We were cursed, Rumple. None of us remember what happened between Regina undoing her curse and waking up to find Snow White pregnant. We don’t even know who cast it.’</p><p>‘Surely anyone who wasn’t here during the first curse should be taken into consideration.’</p><p>‘You would think. We don’t know who, Rumple, any more than we know what we did during that last year that made them curse us. And that scares me.’</p><p>‘Well, it’s a good thing we both love mysteries to uncover. What’s one more?’</p><p>Belle smiled, the light of adventure shining in her eyes again. ‘Yeah.’</p><p>‘Belle?’ So lost in their reunion they didn’t hear Neal coming into the shop. He strode into the backroom, barely glancing at them as he set the breakfast bagels on the workbench. ‘Sorry, they didn’t have mayo.’ He noticed the papers and tools strewn on the floor. ‘What happened in here? Are you all–?’</p><p>Neal saw his deceased father sitting on the bed next to Belle and collapsed against the workbench. He stared at his father as if he was a ghost. Rumple stood up, looking as though his beautiful boy was the one who’d come back from the dead. Belle got to her feet too.</p><p>Neal made a choking noise and pressed his clasped hands to his mouth, just like he had the day he found out he was the father of an eleven year old son, his eyes burning with unshed tears as he watched his father take a cautionary step nearer to his son, as if approaching a scared deer that might bolt.</p><p>‘It’s okay,’ said Rumple in a voice barely above a whisper, looking afraid his son would reject him, raising a placating hand.</p><p>Neal reached out slowly and took his father’s hand in both of his own, and felt it, checking to see if it was solid, before traveling up his arm and rested on his father’s beating heart.</p><p>Father and son hugged at exactly the same time, clinging fiercely to each other, Neal crying silently into his Rumple’s shoulder.</p><p>‘Oh. Oh, it’s all right, Bae,’ said Rumple, his voice cracking. ‘It’s all right. I’m here. And I’ll never leave you again.’</p><p>‘Papa…’ Neal pulled back to look at him. Rumple wiped a tear away from his son’s cheek. ‘Are you real?’</p><p>Rumple laughed nervously. ‘I sure hope so.’</p><p>Neal laughed wetly. ‘You’re not a zombie?’</p><p>‘Definitely not.’</p><p>‘How?’</p><p>Rumple turned to smile at Belle. ‘Someone wished really hard.’</p><p>Belle smiled back. ‘It wasn’t just me.’</p><p>Rumple looked at Neal, who looked just as embarrassed as Belle had been.</p><p>‘I drank from the well,’ he mumbled. ‘I was desperate. You were gone, and Emma and Henry are out there with no memory of any of this. I just wanted my family back.’</p><p>‘Maybe that’s why I’m here,’ Rumple thought. ‘To help you bring them home. And Belle’s wish gave it an extra kick.’</p><p>‘They don’t remember us. And even if you could brew up a memory potion, no one can cross the town line without being abducted and turned into the Wicked Witch’s flying monkeys. It’s impossible.’</p><p>‘Zelena,’ said Rumple as if this was the most dangerous news he’d heard since realizing that Henry had been abducted by Peter Pan.</p><p>‘What?’ said Belle.</p><p>‘Zelena,’ Rumple repeated.</p><p>Belle shivered involuntarily as she thought back to the pale eyed red-haired woman, who resembled Mary Poppins, and how, despite her apparent sweetness, she had given her such a bad feeling when she had questioned her about Rumple’s death. So she hadn’t been imagining it. ‘She’s the witch? What does she want?’</p><p>‘What she doesn’t have. Obsessive vendettas seem run in that family, all the way back to Cora and Queen Eva. And we’re once again collateral damage in their petty war. Regina is to Zelena what Snow White was to Regina. She wants everything Regina has. And she’ll do anything to get it.’</p><p>Belle’s eyes widened in horror. ‘Zelena’s Snow White’s midwife!’</p><p>‘Why would she want Snow White’s baby?’ Neal asked his father urgently.</p><p>‘The number of spells involving baby parts would surprise you,’ said Rumple grimly.</p><p>‘We need Emma.’ Neal looked pleadingly at his papa. ‘Can you help?’</p><p>Rumple smiled confidently. ‘Yes I can.’ He pulled out his trusty potion kit and started adding wolf’s blood and dragon’s scale into a small cauldron. ‘A memory potion is easy to concoct. As no one was given curse memories this time, this makes things far simpler.’</p><p>‘We still can’t cross the town line,’ Belle reminded him.</p><p>‘Not from above,’ Rumple countered.</p><p>Then Belle remembered. ‘The mines! The tunnels - they lead out of town!’</p><p>‘But we’ll still be turned into one of those things,’ said Neal.</p><p>Rumple retrieved a brown leather drawstring bag of powder from his safe and gave it to him. ‘Anti Transformation powder,’ he explained. ‘It should protect you from any ill affects crossing the town line.’</p><p>He poured the little memory potion into a bottle and handed it to Neal. ‘There’s only enough for one.’</p><p>‘I fear not all of my supplies made the return trip.’ Rumple looked deeply apologetic. ‘I’m sorry, Bae. But our only hope is Emma Swan.’</p><p>‘And Henry?’</p><p>‘We’ll just have to improvise. Don’t worry, son. We’ll find a way.’</p><p>‘Thank you, Papa.’ Neal hugged his father. ‘I love you.’</p><p>Rumple hugged him back, looking as if he never dreamed he’d hear his son say those words again. ‘I love you too, son.’</p><p>With a wave of his hand Rumple transported them to the mine tunnels. ‘Can’t risk Zelena or anyone else realizing I’m back yet.’</p><p>They glanced at the orange line sprayed over the mine cart tracks. There was no sign of any flying monkeys lying in wait. Now they needed to make sure Neal didn’t join the menagerie. Neal sprinkled the Anti Transformation powder over himself and stepped over the line. Nothing came flying out to grab him and he didn’t seem to be growing hairs, wings or a tail.</p><p>Neal looked back at Rumple and Belle, clutching the memory potion in his hand. He had to find Emma and help her remember her family. ‘I’ll be back. You two stay safe.’</p><p>‘Good luck,’ said Belle.</p><p>‘Give my regards to Miss Swan,’ said Rumple.</p><p>Neal nodded, smiling. He turned and hurried up the tunnel to find Emma and Henry.</p><p>‘So what do we do?’ Belle asked Rumple when the sound of Neal’s retreating footsteps had died away. ‘Just sit and wait for them to come back with the Saviour?’</p><p>‘No. We need to prepare for the worst case scenario.’</p><p>‘Why don’t I like where this is going?’</p><p>‘It’s not just Regina’s blood Zelena’s out for, Belle. We can’t keep my return a secret forever. And Zelena’s never forgiven me for choosing Regina to be the daughter of Cora who casts my curse. And I fear whatever she’s planning she’ll want to kill two birds with one stone: destroy Regina and make me pay.’</p><p>‘You’d never let her get her hands on your dagger.’</p><p>‘Unless she threatens those closest to me. I chose it once… But if Zelena holds a knife to either of your throats and makes me choose between love or power… I won’t make the same mistake again.’</p><p>Belle felt relief and fear in equal measure. She and Neal had no reason to fear that, if backed into a corner, Rumple would forsake them in favour of self-preservation. But they had everything to fear if the Wicked Witch ever had the Dark One under her control.</p><p>But then Rumplestiltskin always had a plan. He would never allow his enemies an advantage without taking one himself. Back in the Enchanted Forest, he’d let the Charmings believe they had successfully overpowered him to protect Cinderella’s baby, when in fact Rumple had allowed himself to be captured with squid ink so that he would be placed in the dwarf mine cell, using the same ink to plant his ‘Emma’ failsafe in the curse that would wake him up when he heard Emma’s name.</p><p>If Rumple was willing to hand over his freewill to the Wicked Witch of the West, he must have a plan. And Belle wasn’t about to lose Rumple again when she’d only just got him back against all odds.</p><p>‘What do you need?’ Belle asked.</p><p>Rumple stepped closer to Belle, his expression intense. ‘You.’</p><p> </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>The early days of OUAT (the good old days) this well was the spot where Belle remembered Rumple, where magic returned to this world, where Emma and Snow returned to Storybrooke from the Enchanted Forest and became the place where Rumple and Belle were married. And in the Enchanted Forest its mystical waters freed Frederick from his prison of gold, cured Snow White of King George's curse to never bear child and restored the shrivelled dead magic bean.</p><p>I once hoped for S2, if we didn't get a Rumbelle TLK that restored Belle's memories, then the waters of the well would bring them back and be a nice parallel to the S1 finale. But we got a right at the last minute potion by Blue *growl* who "found a solution to the memory problem - today - in the nick of time before we all die". Loved Rumple saying what we were all thinking.</p><p>Bringing back the dead might have been a stretch too far, but if you want something enough and your heart is pure, wondrous things can happen! And 2013 me was 'you can't kill Rumple! Beauty and the Beast has a happy ending! So he *can't* be dead!' </p><p>And if this had happened, it would have made their wedding scene even more beautiful. Rumbelle, Snowing, Swanfire and Swan Queen Believer with their Happy Endings. A perfect end to Once Upon a Time after 3 series!</p></blockquote></div></div>
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